Intaglio

Intaglio is a group of printmaking techniques in which an image is printed from a copper plate. A variety of techniques is used to create the image to be printed for the plate. One of these techniques is drypoint, in which an image is carved into the plate using a a metal tool. This leaves burrs on the edge of the line which results in a softer line. An image can also be created by etching in acid. To etch a plate, the surface is completely covered by a ground which will block the acid. If the ground is hard, an image can be scrapped out of it. If the ground is soft, the image is pressed into it. The plate is then immersed in acid. The acid then eats away at the exposed areas of the copper plate. Other techniques, such as aquatint, can be used to create fields of a more solid value. Once an image is created on the plate, the whole plate is covered in ink and the ink is then wiped. The areas that have been carved or etched out still hold the ink while on the surface their remains very little, if any ink. The ink in the plate is then transferred to paper by applying intense pressure on a press. Several posts down I attempted a digital recreation of intaglio on my "Orange Julius" image. On it I also imitated an additional technique used when printing intaglio called chine-colle. With chine-colle, when the print is passed through the press, pieces of colored paper with glue are also placed on top of the paper to be printed on. This results in the colored paper sticking to the print in a very flat manner, that often almost looks like paint. Some famous artists that used intaglio include Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt and Martin Schongauer